Blog Post
Stellar New Children’s Books
by manz
These are two of my favorite new oversized picture books, both in content and in illustration.
The Blue Hour by Isabelle Simler has the most beautiful etchings you’ll find in a story and is an absolute work of art in every respect. The words are sweet and quiet. The pages and the animals featured are all shades of blue. Pale blue, ocean blue, royal blue, slate blue, and so many more blues you never noticed. It is a treat for the eyes as the animals in the page go throughout their day until the blue hour sets in.
In contrast, Big Dogs, Little Dogs: A Visual Guide to the World’s Dogs by Jim Medway has no story and very little words. What it does have is oodles of illustrations of a variety of dogs! Just about every breed you could think of, from toy dogs to sporting dogs, is included. But the best part is the page with the mixed-breed dogs, which invites the reader to guess what breeds make up each dog. The book is a delight, and features a dandy appendix that lists the breeds with info about them.
Blog Post
Library Space Camp!
by PizzaPuppy
Looking for something fun to do during Spring Break? We'll be hosting Library Space Camp on Thursday, April 6th from 1-3 PM, with special guest Astronaut Tony England!
Join us in making astronaut helmets, creating space-related crafts, running a science experiment, launching straw rockets, watching videos from the International Space Station, and even meeting a real astronaut! We'll have some of our Tools out on display to interact with, including our telescope and our Mars globe. We'll also have a book display filled with many different space books and movies to check out.
Can't wait until the event? In the mood for more space stuff? Take a look at the Smithsonian's Space! The Universe as You've Never Seen It Before or Space: From Earth to the Edge of the Universe for awesome space facts. Learn from Profesor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space or see what it takes to become an astronaut with How to Be a Space Explorer. We also have great movies about space. Check out Destiny in Space, filmed in space by astronauts. Tour the International Space Station with NASA ISS: A Tour or learn about The Planets with one of America's favorite science guys, Bill Nye!
Blog Post
Power Rangers!
by PizzaPuppy
The new Power Rangers movie hits theaters tonight! Go Go Power Rangers!!
If you have Power Rangers fever, rest assured that the library has plenty to keep you entertained.
We have the official movie novelization if you can't wait to see what happens in the new movie.
For early readers, we have books such as Mega Mission, Meet the Rangers, Rangers Unite, Samurai Strike, and Armed for Battle.
Give our Power Rangers graphic novels a try with series like Super Samurai and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
We also have a great selection of the many television series that make up the Power Rangers universe, including the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, MegaForce, Super Megaforce, RPM, Zeo, Samurai, Super Samurai, Time Force, Jungle Fury, and Dino Charge. We even have the 1995 original movie.
Blog Post
Logan
by PizzaPuppy
Logan opened in theaters on March 3rd to rave reviews and is looking to reshape the superhero movie as we currently know it. Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine/Logan in his 9th appearance in the role spanning 12 years-- this marks his last appearance as Logan. The film takes inspiration from both the revisited Old Man Logan and the original Old Man Logan (available through MelCat), as well as Death of Wolverine. Whether you've seen it yet or not, the library has plenty of materials to quench your thirst for Wolverine.
Revisit Jackman's previous work as Wolverine with the first and second movies in the Wolverine trilogy: X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. You can also revisit Wolverine as part of the X-Men, in movies such as X-Men, X-Men United: X2, X3:The Last Stand, X-Men First Class, X-Men Days of Future Past and X-Men Apocalypse. It's not an X-Men movie, but also take a look at Shane, which features heavily in Logan and shares similar thematic elements.
Looking for more comic book fun? Give Wolverine, Wolverine: Origins & Endings, or Weapon X a try. Review Wolverine's past with Wolverine Omnibus Vol 1, or watch him face off with his former friends in Wolverine vs. the X-Men.
Kids can also get in on the fun with Readers such as This is Wolveridne, Marvel Superhero Squad: Adventure Collection. They can look up key facts about their favorite heroes with Meet the Marvel Super Heroes, and read comics like Mini Marvels. Wolverine even features as one of the superheroes in the The Super Hero Squad Show series.
Blog Post
FestiFools and AADL: Something New!
by manz
Our fellow robots, the time has come to change things up and we at AADL are retiring our robot suits for something new. We want to help keep things fresh for FestiFools fans! This year AADL is hosting multiple building workshops for ALL AGES to help us make two community puppets, and for you to make your own costumes or instruments for the big FestiFools event on Sunday, April 9.
This year we are bringing a big, bright, yellow sun puppet to join in whatever fun the official FestiFools organizers have planned for Ann Arbor! We’ll accompany our GIANT sun on Main Street with all of us decked out in our brightest sunniest YELLOW costumes as we march to fantastic beats. Onlookers will see so much YELLOW parading down Main Street! (Robots are always welcome at FestiFools, AADL just isn't hosting workshops to make them.)
We will have opportunities to papier–mâché, paint fabric, make a sunshiney costume with capes and masks, make a drum, and more. We are SO excited to have you join us in helping make FestiFools even more foolish and bright this year!
Festifools Workshop: Community Puppet Building Sunday, March 19 from 1:00-3:00
All ages will work together to help make a GIANT sun puppet that we’ll all march down Main St. at the BIG FestiFools event on Sunday, April 9! It will march alongside a mysterious surprise creature that you will help create in bits and pieces. While you won’t be making your own puppet at this workshop, you’ll have a chance to work together to be a part of something BIGGER that all will see.
FestiFools Workshop: Costume Making Sunday, March 26 from 1:00-3:00
Create your own costume to be worn while marching down Main St. at the BIG FestiFools event on Sunday, April 9! We are bringing a GIANT sun puppet to FestiFools and we need you to be the yellow rays to go with it. We’ll have supplies for capes, wings, hats, masks, and more – many golden yellow supplies to help make us into bright glowing orbs.
FestiFools Workshop: Make Instruments with Drummunity Sunday, April 2, 2017 from 1:00-2:00
Lori Fithian of Drummunity will help us make simple percussive instruments.
Meet back up with us on April 9 at the BIG FestiFools event ready to march along playing your instrument while wearing the most yellow sunshiny costume you can come up with. Picture a GIANT yellow sun with many marching alongside beaming with gold and playing music.
FestiFools Workshop: March with Drummunity Sunday, April 2 from 2:15-3:00
Lori Fithian of Drummunity will lead us in making the most of our unique musical instruments, getting us in the FestiFools spirit with a mini march.
Bring your own instrument or come to the instrument-making workshop right before this. Then meet back up with us on April 9 ready to march along in the BIG FestiFools event, playing your instrument while wearing the most foolish yellow costume you can come up with.
Meet Up and March Over to FestiFools! Sunday, April 9 at 3:30pm
Calling all fools! Meet us in the lobby in your most foolish costumes ready to march over to Main Street and join in the FestiFools fun from 4:00 - 5:00 pm. We library fools are all wearing yellow to surround the sun! So dress in yellow, dress in costume, be silly, and bring your instruments! Get ready to make some noise and spread some cheer in downtown Ann Arbor!
Blog Post
Huge Books about a Huge World!
by evelyn
We’ve just gotten in two amazing oversized nature books for kids and their grownups. First up is Under Water, Under Earth by the talented team Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński. I am obsessed with the work by this pair, and this book is my favorite that they’ve done yet. One side depicts life under the ground, including burrowing animals, root vegetables, infrastructures under cities, tunnels, mines, and more. Flip the book over and you are treated to views under the ocean, from fish and scuba divers to the Titanic and hydrothermal vents. The two sections meet in the middle, where they share a spread on the Earth’s core. This book is jam packed with gorgeous, detailed illustrations and tons of fascinating information.
For kids who want to learn more about plants, checkout Botanicum, which joins Animalium and Historium as part of the Welcome to the Museum collection of oversized nonfiction for kids. With a gold-embellished cover and huge illustrations of beautiful vegetables, trees, flowers, and more, this book will win over any plant enthusiast.
These lovely and big books can work independently, but they also make a great pair. Learn about root vegetables in Under Water, Under Earth and then look at the detailed drawings in Botanicum! Just be sure to bring a bag big enough to fit them both.
Blog Post
Hooray for Owls!
by manz
This week at storytime Ms. Amanda brought some cute owl stories featuring a playful owl, a sleepy owl, and a reading owl. Owls sure do have a lot of interests!
In the wonderfully illustrated Hooray for Today!, Owl wakes up and is ready to play but the friends he wants to play with are still sleeping! Whooooo wants to play? This is by the same author as Hooray for Hat!, and both are recommended.
In I’m Not Reading!, Baby Owl is trying to read a story to Tiny Chick, when they keep getting interrupted by more and more bouncy chicks who also want to hear the story. It’s an adorable and cute picture book by Jonathan Allen to read together.
We then met an owl in Good Night Owl who was trying to go to sleep but he kept hearing a loud SQUEEK. He then tears his house apart searching for the noise. It’s quite silly! What’s silier than an owl in a bathrobe tearing the roof off his house?
Blog Post
The Journey: Books on Refugees and Immigration for Kids
by evelyn
If you want to explain the current refugee crisis to a little one, the new picture book The Journey, by Francesca Sanna, is a wonderful place to start. This gentle and moving book is narrated by a child who has to leave home because of a war. Sanna never specifies where the family starts from, nor the country that they are traveling to, making this story applicable to many parts of the world. The illustrations in The Journey are simply stunning. I was moved to tears by this beautiful story and would recommend it to anyone, not just children.
For other picture books on refugees, take a look at Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey and Joseph’s Big Ride. If you have children who are learning about immigration, try We Came to America, Their Great Gift, or This Land is Our Land.
Blog Post
Friendship, Racism, and Courageous Love
by mansii
When an old friendship turns stale as you both change with age, what does loyalty and love look like? How do you decide who you are beneath the desire to be accepted? When a town trembles like a waiting bomb in the tension of racism, how do you be part of the healing when things fall apart?
Superbly written and deeply felt, Every Single Second by Tricia Springstubb is a densely layered exploration of what makes each of our moments significant. Through alternating glimpses of past and present, we follow the friendship of "secret sisters" Nella and Angela from Kindergarten through the start of Jr. High. Nella has been a refuge for Angela in the midst of a difficult family life, and Angela has protected Nella from some of her biggest mistakes. In the present, everything has suddenly shifted: their Catholic private school is closing down, Nella discovers a family secret that turns what she trusted in most upside down, and the big brother they both looked up to has made an un-fixable, shocking mistake. Nella and Angela need each other more than ever, but by now they have little in common, and the gap between them has become a gulf. Will Nella choose to be the hands and feet of love, or push farther into the care-free world of fun with her newer best friend Clem? Even if she wanted to help, the hurt between them may have pushed Angela out of reach.
The heroes in this story are outside the spotlight--quiet and courageous souls who walk into riots with gentle words of peace, give all their savings to help a grieving family of a different race, and go forward out of haunting mistakes to live their next days with goodness. Gently enough told for the young, and complex enough for those older, this is a story about where the strength comes from to meet tragedy and disappointment with fearless, courageous love.
*For more stories about friendship, big changes, and finding courage see Tricia Springstubb's other titles Moonpenny Island and What Happened On Fox Street *
Blog Post
Newbery Awards Announced!
by manz
It’s a big day in the world of children’s literature and libraries! This morning awards were given for excellence in books, video and audio books for children and young adults at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This year there were three honors given in addition to the winner.
Winner:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic.
Honors:
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran.
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
A peasant girl and her holy greyhound, an oblate on a mission from his monastery, and a young Jewish boy travel across medieval France to escape persecution and save holy texts from being burned.
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.